


Derek's Christmas Shopping Adventure

by dementorsatemysoup



Series: Daddy Derek [6]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: According to Derek, Also Food Is Consumed Because I'm Hungry, And Derek Seems Like the Type to Like FInding Nemo, Christmas Shopping, Confessions, Fluff, Gen, Junie B. Jones is a Bit Like Stiles, Laura Is A Sneaky Devil, M/M, Plus Stiles is Scary Perceptive, Toy Story is Mentioned, Unintentional First Date, a small bit of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-14
Updated: 2014-06-14
Packaged: 2018-02-04 14:53:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1783024
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dementorsatemysoup/pseuds/dementorsatemysoup
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Laura 'conveniently' disappears, leaving Stiles and Derek alone at the mall.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Derek's Christmas Shopping Adventure

**Author's Note:**

> This took a while to write, and I know it's not Christmas yet, but I really don't care, so enjoy.
> 
> Thanks for reading, leave me a comment if you can, and thank you to those who are following (and enjoying) this series.
> 
> Bye!!!

Christmas came much like it did every year, in a whirlwind of stress that had Derek contemplating ripping his hair out. Laura dragged him and Cora to the mall on eight separate occasions-sometimes the kids would tag along, other times Nick would watch them.

The ninth time, Cora opted out, claiming she had to work (which was a crock of shit because Derek _knew_   today had been her day off), so Derek found himself trailing after Laura, feeling sorry for any shopper that got in his sister’s way, cursing himself for picking up the phone that morning.

“…and I’m not sure what Skylanders are, but Isaac has been talking about them for the past two months. And he also wants a Captain America mask and shield because Allison has a Katniss bow, and I blame you and Stiles for letting him watch Captain America last week.”

Derek’s head snapped up at the mention of Stiles and he said, “Hey, that was Stiles, and why you do always clump me and Stiles together?”

Laura snorted, shaking her head. “Derek, please, use your brain sweetie.”

“Just because I spent an entire date talking about him does not mean I like him,” Derek hissed moving to keep pace with Laura. He realized how stupid that sounded, and when his sister gave him a knowing smirk and he grumbled, “Shut up.”

“What are you getting Allison for Christmas?” Laura asked changing the subject, surprising Derek. In his twenty-seven years, Laura had never, ever given him a break, something had to be up.

A hint of paranoia settled over Derek, and he warily said, “I don’t know yet. She gave me a list, but it’s mostly Marvel and Katniss stuff. She asked for those Hulk hands, you know the ones that make noise when you hit someone, but I don’t think I want to wake up to two Hulk hands hitting me…”

Derek ran into someone, his words violently cutting off, and he heard someone whelp. Automatically, his hands shot out, steadying whoever he hit, keeping a lanky yet toned body from hitting the floor.

“Hey, buddy, you okay?” Derek’s head snapped up at the familiar voice, his eyes settling on Stiles, an amused smile on the younger guy’s face.

“Y-yeah, I’m sorry for, you know, nearly knocking you over,” Derek replied very much aware of the fact that he’s still holding Stiles’ arms. He quickly let go, shoving his hands in his pockets. “What are you doing here?”

“Buying Erica some doll she wants.” Stiles held up a bag as proof, a lopsided grin on his face. “What about you? You here by yourself?”

“No, I’m here with…” Derek glanced over, rolling his eyes. Laura had conveniently disappeared, no doubt thinking she was doing Derek a favor. He’s going to kill her when he found her. “Apparently I’m by myself.”

“Oh, cool, we should continue shopping together.” Before Derek could protest, Stiles had already hurried away, calling over his shoulder, “We should totally get something to eat first! God, I’m starving!” With a sigh, and a mental ‘fuck you’ to his sister, Derek quickly chased after Stiles.

* * *

“…hold off on the pickles and give me extra tomatoes,” Stiles said to the lady behind the counter, his nose practically pressed to the glass. Derek stood just out of line, holding a tray from Panda Express, his stomach growling as the scent of Beijing Beef wafted up to his nose. He would have sat down and devoured everything on the tray, but his mother raised him with manners so Derek waited albeit a little impatiently.

“Do you have jalapeño peppers?” Stiles asked curiously peering at the sandwich condiments. Before the lady could respond, he asked, “What about cilantro? Honey mustard? Can I get the bread toasted?”

“Hey, buddy some of us only have a short lunch period,” a gruff voice said from behind Stiles, a large, lumberjack type glaring at him, arms crossed against his chest, flannel stretched to its limit between his shoulder blades.

“This is the most important part of any sandwich making process, sir,” Stiles snarked back, sparing the man a quick glance before returning his attention to giving his order. “Perhaps you could learn to be a bit more patience.”

“And perhaps,” the guy snarled taking a step towards Stiles, “you can get the fuck out of line and let someone else order.”

Derek put his tray down, not exactly sure what he was going to do, but feeling the overwhelming need to protect Stiles. It wasn’t like the younger guy needed protection, and really the guy behind Stiles made a very good point, but Derek really could not let anything happen to the eccentric brunet.

Stiles turned to the other guy, looking up at him, and said, “You’re a meatball kind of guy, right?”

“What?” The guy was taken aback by Stiles’ words, taking a step away from him, and even Derek was intrigued, wanting to know where exactly Stiles was going with this. “What are you…?”

“Meatball, maybe some cheese if you’re feeling particularly adventurous, on plain bread because you never could quite stomach change, despite the fact that you’ve had the same sandwich order since you were in high school.” The guy’s eyes narrowed, his face turning a little red, but Stiles pressed on. “The point I’m making is _some_ of us actually like different things on their sandwich. I am not you, sir. I do not have a fear of change. In fact, I quite like change in the right circumstance. So kindly, wait your damn turn.” Stiles gave him a pleasant smile before turning to the lady behind the counter.

“Alright, scratch the jalapeño peppers and just give me the extra tomatoes and honey mustard.” The lady nodded, relief in her eyes, and quickly made Stiles’ sandwich. “Oh, and add a… wait.” He turned to Derek and asked, “Would you like a cookie? I’m gonna get you one anyway.” He turned back and said, “Two cookies, please.”

Once he’d been rung up, Stiles led Derek to a table, taking a seat, kicking the other chair out so the older guy could sit down. Slowly, Derek lowered himself into the chair, setting his tray down, watching Stiles closely. The brunet pulled his sandwich from the bag, opening the wrapping, freezing when he felt Derek’s eyes on him.

Slowly, he looked up and said, “What?”

“How did you…?”

“...know that guy’s order?” Stiles finished and Derek nodded, glancing over at the burly man. The guy kept shooting Stiles furtive looks, but he had, in fact, still ordered the meatball sub. “When you’ve been raised by the sheriff, you pick up a few things. Like, I know for a fact, you are a veggie sandwich type of guy, heavy on the pickles and cucumbers.” Stiles’ nose scrunched up at the mention of pickles, but he didn’t comment further.

“You know people’s sandwich orders,” Derek commented slowly, not even a little surprised, shoveling a forkful of beef into his mouth.

“I also can guess shoe sizes and music preferences. Sometimes even favorite movies if I’m in a daring mood.” Stiles smirked at Derek’s incredulous look, picking his sandwich apart. Derek opened his mouth, not exactly sure what he was about to say, but closed it when Stiles said, “Finding Nemo.”

“Lucky guess,” Derek muttered stabbing at his food.

“Keep telling yourself that,” Stiles retorted with a chuckle.

They sat in silence for a few minutes, both enjoying their food (Stiles a little more than Derek), when the younger guy looked up and said, “Hey, tomorrow the movie theater is going to play all three Toy Story movies in a row. Would you and Allison like to accompany me and Erica? You could even bring Isaac if you wanted.” Stiles looked down and muttered, “You don’t _have_ to if you don’t want to. I just thought…”

“Yes,” Derek answered far too quickly, mentally kicking himself, but he couldn’t bring himself to regret it when Stiles looked up again, this time smiling.

“That’s awesome!” Stiles exclaimed just as the burly man approached their table.

He looked down at Stiles for a good ten seconds before he smugly said, “I ordered jalapeños on my sandwich.”

“Congratulations,” Stiles retorted and the guy huffed, storming away. He grinned at Derek, the older guy snorted, and the two returned to their food.

* * *

After lunch, Stiles dragged Derek into _Spencer’s_ , mentioning something about getting gag gifts for Danny and Lydia, and Derek spent the majority of the time blushing furiously as Stiles attacked him with a dildo. The guy had no shame, and Derek wondered how he had survived high school.

They left _Spencer’s_ , Stiles carrying another bag, Derek flashing the cashier an apologetic smile, but from the bored look on his face, it seemed he had seen worse and really didn’t need Derek’s attempt at an apology. From _Spencer’s_ , they went into _Barnes and Noble_ , Stiles dragging Derek to the kid’s section.

“Alright, pick a book.” The younger guy gestured to the shelf, giving Derek an expectant look.

“ _For_?”

“Allison.” Before Derek could assure Stiles he didn’t need to get Allison anything, the younger guy pressed on, “I get Boyd something every year because Danny is my friend. Now, you’re my friend, too, so you and Allison are getting something. Now, which book would Allison like?”

Knowing arguing would be useless, Derek sighed and pointed at the _Junie B. Jones_ series. “Allison and I have been slowly working our way through that series, but the library doesn’t have the last two.”

“Alright.” Stiles grabbed the last two, skimming the back of one, his eyebrows furrowed. “What is this series about anyway?”

“It’s about a girl named Junie B. Jones. She actually kinda reminds me of you.” Derek smirked, turning away from Stiles’ faux-glare and gesturing to the shelves. “Which book does Erica want? I’d like to get her something, too.”

“Does this mean you’re getting me something?” Stiles perked up, tilting his head so it rested on Derek’s shoulder. “Please tell me it’s a puppy. My dad never let me have a puppy when I was younger.”

Something shot through Derek’s gut at the feeling of Stiles’ warm breath against his neck, and he quickly ducked away from the younger guy, saying, “I’m sure he was just afraid both you _and_ the dog would tear the house apart.”

“Yeah.” Stiles looked a little mortified, but he quickly shook if off and said, “Erica isn’t much of a book person, but she does like puzzles.”

“Okay.” Derek wandered away from Stiles, heading towards the children’s puzzles. He found two Sponge Bob puzzles, both for kids around Erica’s age, and held them up for Stiles to see. “What about these?” Stiles didn’t reply, and when Derek turned he found the younger guy gone.

“Stiles!” he called in a stage whisper, looking around the immediate area, noticing the younger guy standing by checkout. He quickly headed towards the brunet, shuffling the puzzles in his hands. “We leaving already?” he asked once he's in Stiles’ hearing range.

“Uh, n-not exactly,” Stiles stammered keeping his back to Derek, handing his credit card over to the cashier. “I just remembered I have to head into work today.”

“Oh.” Disappointment settled in Derek’s stomach, with a dash of irrational fear. Had he done something to make Stiles mad? Was this about the head on his shoulder thing? Had that just been a friends’ thing and Derek made it weird with his reaction? He really had to fix this. “I could walk you out.”

“No, that’s fine.” Stiles signed the receipt quickly, taking his card back, and accepted the shopping bag the cashier handed him. He turned, giving Derek a forced smile, and said, “See you on the bus Monday.”

“Yeah.” Derek watched Stiles walk away, fighting the urge to run after him, only to jump when the cashier cleared her throat. He turned and she asked, “Are you checking him out?”

“What?” He gave her a confused look, feeling his face burn.

“Are you checking out?” she repeated with an annoyed huff, and Derek quickly nodded, placing the two puzzles onto the counter.

He found Laura a good twenty minutes later, sitting at the food court, eating a frozen yogurt while she crossed items off her list. Derek dropped into the seat across from her, putting his head on the table.

“You did something stupid, didn’t you?” Laura asked with faux-sympathy. When Derek nodded, she patronizingly patted his head and said, “There, there, little brother.”

“I hate you,” he grumbled into the table.

“I know you do,” she replied quietly, still patting his head. “You’re also sitting in hot sauce.” Derek groaned and silently cursed his existence.

* * *

Laura agreed to come with Derek to the movies the following day; half because of the stress of Christmas shopping, and half because Derek practically begged her to come with. He wasn’t even sure if Stiles was actually going to be there, the younger guy not calling to say otherwise, but he figured he, Laura, Allison, and Isaac could enjoy the movies (or as many as two five-year-olds could sit through) if Stiles and Erica didn’t show.

“He’ll be here, calm down,” Laura whispered her hand clutching her son’s smaller one, Isaac looking around the crowded movie theater with wide, fearful eyes.

“I know,” Derek muttered back moving forward with the line, Allison sitting on his shoulders.

“Will I ever get this tall, Daddy?” she asked playing with his hair.

“Maybe, Bug,” Derek responded with a fond smile, squeezing one of her ankles. “You alright up there?”

“I feel like a queen,” she stated sitting up a bit straighter. “And these are my subjects. Did I use that right Daddy? Subjects?”

“Yes.”

“Good.”

“Look, walk me through what happened again,” Laura said picking Isaac up when the kid backed into her legs, trying to avoid getting stepped on by the guy in front of them. He buried his face in his mother’s shoulder, squeezing his eyes shut.

“Can we _not_ talk about this right now?” Derek asked a little sharply, his voice low. “I just want to enjoy the movies, make sure Allison doesn’t eat her bodyweight in popcorn, and forget how much I screwed up.”

“Alright,” Laura surrendered, moving forward another few steps. “Just tell me, did he look pissed or upset when he left?”

“Oh my God, Laura.”

“It’s a valid question.”

He ignored his sister, shaking his head, pulling his wallet out when they reached the ticket kiosk. He bought four tickets, taking them and his receipt, and followed his sister to the lady who dealt with the tickets.

“You’ll be in theater six which is to your left,” she explained tearing the tickets, handing Derek the four stubs. “They’ll be a short break between each movie, too, so the kids can stretch their legs.”

“Thanks,” Laura said with a smile and the quartet headed towards the concession stand. Laura bought ICEEs for the kids, a bottle of water for herself, and root beer for Derek. She muttered darkly about the prices, but still added two buckets of popcorn to the drinks.

Derek pulled Allison from his shoulders, putting her on the floor despite her appalled look, and grabbed the popcorn. Laura, with some gentle coaxing, managed to put Isaac down and grabbed the drinks. Isaac grabbed for Allison’s hand, dragging his cousin into the space between his mother and uncle, and followed the latter to their theater.

Inside, the group found seats near the middle, Laura making sure the kids were in between her and Derek before handing them their ICEEs. “Make these count because you’re stuck with water once their gone,” Laura said and Derek didn’t blame her, ICEEs had way too much sugar for the kids, and having more than one would only have both Isaac and Allison bouncing off the walls.

 While they waited for the movie to start, Derek kept looking towards the two entryways, expecting Stiles to come around the corner. Every time someone new showed up, and every time they were not Stiles, Derek felt his disappointment growing until it left a pit of irritation in his gut. What was the _point_ of inviting Derek if Stiles wasn’t going to show up?

On the verge of giving up, wondering if he could spend most of the first movie in the lobby, Derek looked up on, final time to see Stiles come around the corner. Erica and Scott trailed him, the former practically buzzing with excitement while the latter scanned the theater anxiously. When Scott’s eyes settled on Derek, or more importantly Allison, he grinned and shouted, “Stiles, I found ‘em! You don’t have to worry about Derek coming anymore!”

“Thank you, Scott,” Stiles said with a forced smile, ushering his brother and daughter towards Derek, Laura, and the kids. “Hi,” the brunet greeted with a small wave, gesturing for Erica and Scott to sit down, the latter waving excitedly at Allison before taking his seat. Allison returned the wave, a small smile on her face, and Derek internally sighed.

Somehow, Stiles ended up seated next to Derek, Erica having quickly taken the seat opposite of Scott, and Derek could have sworn she looked smug about it. Shaking his head, figuring he had to be seeing things, he looked away from the blonde, his eyes settling on the screen.

Stiles fidgeted in his seat, his arm brushing Derek’s several times, clutching tightly to his drink. He began jiggling his leg, tapping his fingers against his armrest, running his other hand through his hair. Derek became aware of every one of Stiles’ movements, watching the brunet out of the corner of his eye.

Twice, Derek nearly leaned over and asked Stiles what was wrong, but he refrained, a part of him still convinced the eccentric brunet was still a little mad at him, and he really didn’t feel like adding fuel to the fire. His best bet was to let the tension die down, try and talk to Stiles later, or never. Never seemed good, too.

Luck, apparently, was just not on his side tonight, and no sooner had the movie started, did Stiles lean over and whisper, “Can we go somewhere to talk?”

Derek hesitated, but he finally nodded and stood up, following Stiles out of the theater and into the bathroom. Stiles waited until the bathroom cleared out, checking underneath the stalls just to be sure, before turning to Derek and saying, “I feel like I fucked up somewhere.”

“What?” Okay, that had been unexpected.

“I just, I kept thinking you were giving off these signals yesterday, and then I did the stupid head thing and you reacted like, well like someone who had their space violated, and I’m so sorry. I just, I don’t want what I did yesterday to ruin our friendship, and I didn’t sleep well last night, and I almost called you like six times to apologize, but I thought it’d be better if…” Stiles trailed off, his eyebrows furrowing. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Derek still hadn’t quite wrapped his head around what Stiles had said but hope seemed to flare through his stomach, trumping the irritation and disappointment he had been feeling earlier. He tried to form some sort of coherent sentence, but nothing would come out of his mouth.

“Are you okay? Should I go get you some water? What am I saying? We’re in a bathroom, there’s water in the sink, but who really wants to drink bathroom water…?”

Stiles’ rambling snapped Derek back to reality and the older guy heard himself blurt out, “I like you!”

“What?”

“What?” Derek repeated taking a step back, his lower back ramming into a sink. “Ow.”

“Did you just say…? Are you being serious…? What is going on?” Stiles asked looking both hopeful and wary, his hands half-raised like he was about to approach a rabid animal. “Are you okay?”

“Laura is probably wondering where we are,” Derek said and rushed out of the bathroom. He stopped mid-way to the theater, burying his face into his hands. What the hell was he doing? Why was he running away? What the hell was the matter with him?

“Fuck,” he muttered and turned, racing back into the bathroom, nearly running into Stiles. He skidded to a halt, meeting the brunet’s eyes, and quickly said, “Allison’s mother left me when Allison was six months old, I haven’t been on a proper date in five years, unless you count Jennifer, and I’m not sure how to like someone without being a complete idiot. I’m sorry.”

Stiles took a moment to process this before he grabbed Derek’s hand and softly said, “Erica’s mother died during childbirth, and I haven’t been on a date since, so I’m not sure how to like someone without being a complete idiot, either.”

They stood in silence for a good thirty seconds, but Laura’s voice snapped them back to reality. “Look, if you two aren’t going to kiss, can you move along? I’ve got four kids who need to pee, an ICEE I need to clean up, and I think Scott stepped in something nasty.”

Stiles gave Derek a small smile, squeezing his hand, before releasing the older man and saying, “I will take the boys, you take the girls, and Derek can clean up the mess.”

“Right,” Derek nodded already heading towards the concession stand to get napkins. He spared a quick glance over his shoulder, his green eyes catching Stiles’ brown ones, and they shared another, small smile before both looked ahead, but not before Derek caught the knowing smirk on Laura’s face.

As the mature adult he happened to be, Derek stuck his tongue out at her and hurried away, nearly running into a man carrying a box of food. “Sorry,” he apologized, but not even Laura’s cackling laughter could puncture the elation he felt, knowing that he hadn’t fucked up with Stiles. Now, he just had to figure out a way to ask the guy on a date.

_Oh god._


End file.
